A woman who is living with an aggressive brain tumour is putting her best foot forward to help find a cure for the disease.
Clare Smerdon was a new mum to her 13-month-old son Teddy when she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in June 2022. Her treatment, which included a six-hour surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, left Clare with life-changing effects including compromised eyesight and impacted speech.
Shortly after she finished treatment, last September, Clare took part in our Walk of Hope in Torpoint and raised more than £1,000. “Although it was challenging, when people heard I had a brain tumour, they all gathered round and helped push me up the hill. I wanted to complete the walk for everyone who has lost someone to this devastating disease,” she said.
Clare and Teddy’s dad, Dave, on last year’s Walk of Hope
Clare’s most recent scan detected growth, but she has been told that it is not enough to qualify her for further surgery, and she remains on a ‘watch and wait’ treatment plan.
Now, Clare is getting ready to step forward once again and is planning to do her own Walk of Hope near her hometown in Devon. She said: “I’m going into it a bit stronger. I may be dying, have lost all my hair or feel really weak, but I can still do this. A lot of people diagnosed with brain tumours get very depressed, they think why fight? But I can go along, do this simple thing, raise awareness and raise money for Brain Tumour Research so that in years to come, when a cure is found, I will know I’ve done my bit.”
With just over two months to go until our Walk of Hope on Saturday 28th September, hundreds of people have already signed up to join us at one of our events or to organise their own walk. If you’ve not already registered, click here to find out more, choose your walk and sign up for your free fundraising pack.
Related reading: